WASHINGTON — Linda Ronstadt remained composed as she walked up to claim her National Medal of Arts on Monday afternoon at the White House. After all, she is no stranger to the stage.

Even when President Barack Obama whispered something to her as he put the medal around her neck — that he had had a “little crush” on her when he was younger — the pop singer just smiled.

She has probably heard that before, too.

Obama had a secret for each of the 22 recipients of the National Medal of Arts and National Humanities Medal: He brought author Maxine Hong Kingston close to tears when he told her he had used her memoir, The Woman Warrior, as a model for his own.

They weren’t secrets by the end of the East Room ceremony. The president shared with the crowd what he had told some honorees, as he spoke about his personal connections to their work.

The medals, which are given by the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, are touted as the highest honors given by the U.S. government to artists, arts patrons, scholars and critics in their fields. They are lifetime-achievement awards.

There was enthusiastic applause, but no cheering, as Obama placed medals around their necks. Instead, it was apparent where each recipient’s fans were sitting based on where in the crowd a cluster of iPhone screens shot into the air for a photograph as each walked toward the president.